10-29-17 Morning-Understanding the Message (text only)

INTRODUCTION: When you study Revelation, it is easy to read fast and get right to the good stuff. We want to know the future. We want to see the exciting stuff that God is going to do. Some of us want to find out what we should worry about. God has some things that He wants you to know before you get to that stuff. John, who penned this book, was on the isle of Patmos, exiled because he preached about Jesus Christ. We will get into that background as God reveals it to us here in His message. God wants you to understand some things about His message before, you get into this book. In identifying the message, God wants you to come to three realizations about it.

GOD WANTS YOU TO UNDERSTAND HIS MESSAGE (V. 1)

This is the Revelation of Jesus Christ

It is about Jesus Christ

And it is delivered by Jesus Christ from God the Father

The focal point of the book of Revelation is Jesus Christ

His work that He has already done for salvation and the work that He will do in the future to finish it completely

This message comes directly from God the Father

Given to Jesus

To show to His servants

The word show is to make known and to explain

To make known and explain to us things that will certainly, without a doubt come to pass

The message was given to an angel or messenger by Jesus Christ to John

The words that are used here are very important

He sent and signified this message to John

Sent is pretty plain, he sent out a message by a messenger

But signify is the word semaino in the Greek

To cause something to be both specific and clear

Some people have used signify to explain that Revelation will use symbols to bring the message of God, which it does sometimes, but that is not the meaning here

The point here is that God sent this specific message to us through His messenger and made it very clear

You see you can understand the message that God sends

The book of Revelation is not above your head

If you can’t understand a particular thing, God did not intend for you to understand it

The message that He wants you to receive from His messenger is very plain

The message throughout is the same as the message that has been delivered to mankind since Adam and Eve fell in the garden

The message is that salvation comes through belief in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and confession of Him as Lord

Those that receive Jesus in that way will have specific and clear eternal life

Those that do not will face specific and clear judgment

This message is not hard to understand, it is very specific and clear

God wants you to realize today that you can understand His message

GOD USES MEN TO DELIVER HIS MESSAGE (V. 2)

John wrote the record of the message down for you to read

He bore record of the word of God

The Greek word for word is logos-it actually means the living word

In John 1:1 In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God (referring to Jesus Christ)

In I John 1:1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life

John uses this word logos to refer to Jesus, the living word of God

So John is bearing record of Jesus and the testimony of Jesus

That is the things that Jesus shared with mankind

This is Jesus telling us the truth-that He is God the Son and that He died on the cross to pay the price for sins

This is Jesus saying in essence, For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)

And then John also bears record of the things he saw

God gives John visions of things that will come

And John is instructed to write those things down

John is supposed to share this message about how it is all going to end

The message about eternal life for the children of God

And eternal death for those who would not believe

God’s judgment on this ungodly world

And the bringing of a new heaven and new earth for the followers of Jesus Christ to live on for eternity

Did you know that the message that John is tasked to deliver here is the same message that you are tasked to share every day

Jesus commanded in Matthew 28:18-20 All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.

Your job is the same as John’s

To bear record of Jesus Christ to the world

To bear record of the things that Jesus said

To bear record of the things that you have seen and experienced about Jesus Christ

People need to know that eternal life comes through Jesus Christ

And that eternal death comes from doing nothing with Jesus Christ

You need to tell people that Jesus died to pay the price for their sins

And that if they will just believe that He did with all of their heart

And believe that He rose from the grave

And make Him the Lord and master of their life

They will have eternal life

God has chosen to use people to share that message

YOU ARE BLESSED TO HEAR AND TAKE HIS MESSAGE TO HEART (V. 3)

So John writes the message here in this book of Revelation

It is out there for people to read

We can know how it is all going to end

We can understand the truth about God and Jesus Christ the Son

We can share that message with other people

Look what He says about those people that read this message

He says that you are blessed when you read this message that John wrote

The word blessed has the idea of happy and fortunate

You are fortunate to have had the opportunity to read this message

There are a lot of people that are scared to death of the book of Revelation

But here, God says, it is a book that you are fortunate and should be happy to read

It will bless your life, to hear this message about the lamb that was slain for the sins of the world and the eternal life that He brings

Also you are blessed to hear this message

Hear-to understand, perceive the sense of something that you have considered

So not only are you blessed to read this message

But you are blessed too, when you consider it deeply and understand the sense of it

You should not only read, but you should really dig in to understand it

You are fortunate and happy if you do that

And keep those things that are written

The word keep has the idea of guarding in obedience

So you are going to take this word into your heart and guard it there

Make sure you never lose this message

And then you are going to apply this message to your heart and do what it says

The overall message again is the eternal life that Jesus offers if you will believe and follow Him

And the judgment that comes when you do not

Bring that message into your heart and act on it

If you have never believed, do that today and make Jesus the Lord of your life

If you are a Christian, then you will see in this book what God would have you to be doing as the end approaches

Guard these words, take them into your heart, apply them to your life

And you will be blessed as a result.

CONCLUSION:Â Listen to me! God’s message for man has always been the same. It is the same here in the book of Revelation. Jesus Christ, God himself, came to pay the price for your sins by dying on the cross. He rose again from the grave. If you believe that Jesus died to pay for your sins and rose again. If you confess Him as Lord, you will have eternal life and you have nothing to worry about in this world or in your life. If you will not believe then you will be judged for eternity in hell. Eternity is what is important. Listen to the message that God has sent by His men. Understand that clear message and be blessed by taking it to your heart and applying it to your life.